The comparison between that team and the current sorry outfit is frightening and hopes cannot be high for the team is it embarks today on a home Test series with Pakistan having not won any of its previous 18 Tests.

But as Fire in Babylon retells, the West Indies has a rich heritage of magnificent cricketers. To coincide with the release of the film, here is our all-time West Indies XI:

1. Gordon Greenidge (108 tests, 19 hundreds, average 44.72) - A vivid memory of our childhood was Greenidge's brutal unbeaten 214 at Lord's in 1984, which made mincemeat of a victory target of 344. Immensely powerful and destructive, Greenidge was the template for the modern breed of attacking openers like Sehwag and Dilshan. Formed two of the greatest opening partnerships of all time with Desmond Haynes for the Windies and Barry Richards for Hampshire.

2. George Headley (22 tests, 10 hundreds, average 60.83) - One of the greats of the game. In 22 tests, when he pretty much was the West Indies batting, Headley hit ten centuries including eight against England. His test match average is one of the best in history, and the tag of the 'Black Bradman was certainly justified. Indeed, Headley's admirers responded by calling Bradman the 'white Headley', and the fact that is a compliment to the Don shows just how good the pioneering Headley was.

3. Sir Viv Richards (Captain, 121 tests, 24 hundreds, average 50.23) - The most devastating batsman in the history of the game, Richards was absolutely unstoppable on his day. His style was a mixture of swagger and intimidation, and bowlers visibly cowered when faced with an on-song King Viv. It is fitting that he has the fastest-ever Test century, from just 56 balls against England in Antigua during the 1986 tour. With Worrell and Lloyd not making the cut, Richards is captain of our all-conquering Caribbean XI.

4. Brian Lara (131 tests, 34 hundreds, average 52.88) - Holds the record for the highest Test and First Class scores of 400 not out and 501 not out respectively. When he started his career, the West Indian era of dominance was on the wane. By the time he finished it, his side was in the doldrums. As a result Lara spent most of his time trying to keep his side afloat, which makes his record all the more remarkable. Perhaps his best achievement was in 1999 at home to Australia, when he single-handedly won the second and third tests with scores of 213 and 153 not out. He scored a century too in the fourth test, but couldn’t prevent Australia squaring the series.

5. Everton Weekes (48 tests, 15 hundreds, average 58.61) - One of the immortal 'three Ws', Walcott believed that Weekes was the best all-round batsman of the three. An attacking batsman with a vast array of strokes, Weekes made an electric start to his test career reaching 1,000 runs in only his 12th innings; one fewer than Bradman. During this run he also scored five centuries in consecutive innings against England and India - still a Test record.

6. Sir Gary Sobers (93 tests, 26 hundreds, average 57.78, 235 wickets at 34.03) - Cricket’s greatest all-rounder. With the bat, Sobers mixed elegance with power and for a long time held the record for the highest Test score until he was usurped by Lara. Perhaps his best innings though came for the Rest of the World against Australiain 1972 when Sobers played an innings of 254 described by Bradman as "probably the greatest exhibition of batting ever seen in Australia". Batting wasn't his only talent either. Indeed, he could bowl left arm fast medium as well as both orthodox and leg spin.

7. Sir Clyde Walcott (44 tests, 15 hundreds, average 56.68, 53 catches, 11 stumpings) - Ok, Walcott wasn't as good a keeper as Dujon and even relinquished the gloves following back trouble (not that he would have to bend over too much keeping to this attack). But how can you leave out someone this good? Walcott played an instrumental role in the first West Indian victory on English soil at Lord’s in 1950 scoring 168 not out. Along with Weekes, he was arguably the best batsman in the World during the mid-1950s, reaching his peak with an incredible five hundreds and 827 runs during Australia’s first Test series in the Caribbean. This team bats deep!

8. Malcolm Marshall (81 tests, 376 wickets at 20.94) - If picking the batsmen was hard, whittling down a long line of brilliant West Indies fast bowlers is even harder. Including Marshall though wasn't difficult as he was arguably the best of the lot. Fearsomely fast and with the ability to swing the ball both ways, Marshall was often unplayable and England in particular were frequent victims. His strike rate of 46.22 was as phenomenal as his premature death at the age of 41 was tragic. No doubt, Marshall has reduced Bradman's average of 99.94 since he joined the heavenly all-time greats on the elysian cricket field.

9. Curtly Ambrose (98 tests, 405 wickets at 20.99) - The most menacing bowler of his generation and given his dislike for speaking to the media, was like a silent if giant assassin. Once took seven wickets for one run in the most devastating of spells against Australia, but as England fans we remember him blasting out Mike Atherton's side for just 46 in Port of Spain more.

10. Joel Garner (58 Tests, 259 wickets at 20.97) - Can anyone imagining having to face Ambrose and Garner on the same bouncy wicket? When we picked this side last time, we opted for a spinner (Sonny Ramadhin), but this time partly in honour of 'Fire in Babylon' we go for four quicks. 'Big Bird' was a legend and unleashed one of the most devastating yorkers the game has ever seen from his monstrous 6'8" frame.

11. Michael Holding (60 tests, 249 wickets at 23.68) - It could have been Roberts, Hall, Walsh or even the pioneer Constantine, but we settle for Whispering Death as our final quick. Could well be the fastest bowler in history and he certainly had the longest run-up. His run-up and delivery were poetry in motion for all who watched except for the terrified batsman at the other end. Now an erudite and forthright commentator, Holding is perhaps best remembered for his monumental 14 for 149 at The Oval in 1976.

12th man - Sonny Ramadhin (43 tests, 158 wickets at 28.98) - Wins a toss-up with Lance Gibbs, although we never saw either of them bowl live in the flesh. Ramadhin could spin the ball both ways and bowl off and leg breaks and it is this versatility that tipped the scales in his favour. Was the hero when West Indies won their first test at Lord's with 11 for 152 in 1950.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Last year we wrote a post for World Cricket Watch, where we named our top 20 batsmen of all time. Now seems a good time to revisit this. Firstly, so we can extend the list this time to 30. But secondly, because we are prepared to admit that we erred somewhat last time in placing Sachin Tendulkar behind Ricky Ponting in the all-time batting pantheon. Given that the Ashes were on at the time, we must have done it out of fear that Ponting would inspire his side to retain the little urn.

Like last time, the 30 names are based primarily on Test cricket, which is undoubtedly the real barometer of a batsman’s ability and greatness. In any case, international limited overs cricket was not played before 1971 so we will never know how Bradman, Hammond and other such great luminaries would have fared in this form of the game; or Twenty 20 for that matter. Naturally, comparing players from different generations is difficult as the game has changed irrevocably over the course of its history with covered pitches, faster scoring rates and changes to the laws of the game. As such, a modern day batsman will never play on a ‘sticky dog’, but unlike before 1935 can be adjudged leg before to a ball pitching outside off-stump.

One final caveat. Being the right side of 40, we obviously do not have the benefit of seeing the great players of yesteryear live at the crease. Thus, we have relied on our extensive collection of Wisden and other cricket books, plus newsreel footage and general knowledge of the game in order to arrive at the final list, which begins today with numbers 30-21.

30. Stan McCabe(Australia) - 39 tests, 6 100s, 13 50s, average 48.21, HS 232 - If the rest of the Australian batsmen had taken to Bodyline like McCabe, then the story of the infamous 1932/33 series could have been very different. His 187 in the 1st test out of 278 was as remarkable as it was courageous as he regularly hooked the fearsome pair of Larwood and Voce. As shrewd a judge as Len Hutton remarked that "it would be hard to think of a greater Australian batsman. He had qualities that even Bradman hadn't got." That gets him into our 30, just ahead of Zaheer Abbas, Jacques Kallis and Steve Waugh.

29. Andy Flower(Zimbabwe) - 63 tests, 12 100s, 27 50s, average 51.54, HS 232* - This is not a case of nepotism from a grateful England supporter, but one of admiration for a batsman who averaged over 50 for one of the whipping boys of international cricket. Two feats stand out. In 2000, in a two test series in India, Flower made scores of 183 not out, 70, 55 and his test best 232 not out in his four trips to the crease. But perhaps his greatest performance came a year later against South Africa when in a nine wicket defeat he scored 142 (out of 286) and 199 not out (out of 391).

28. Peter May(England) - 66 tests, 13 100s, 22 50s, average 46.77, HS 285*- One of England's greatest and arguably her most classical batsman. His erstwhile foe Richie Benaud called May not merely the greatest English batsman to emerge since the war but the only great one. May scored a hundred on debut against South Africa in 1951 and never looked back, with his career best 285 not out finally seeing an England batsman better Sonny Ramadhin.

27. Virender Sehwag(India) - 76* tests, 19 100s, 21 50s, average 53.52, HS 319 - Sehwag's stand and deliver style makes him the most exciting batsman currently playing test cricket. Indeed, he is so good that he has inspired a religion. He has certainly revolutionised the role of the opener from the dour one of the past with his remarkable 80 runs per 100 balls strike rate, which has already inspired the likes of Gayle, Dilshan and Tamim. And when he gets in, he stays in with 13 of his 19 hundreds being in excess of 150 with four doubles and two triples. His 319 off only 304 balls against South Africa at Chennai in 2008 was simply breathtaking. Could well go much higher in this list before he retires.

26. Sir Frank Worrell(West Indies) - 51 tests, 9 100s, 22 50s, average 49.48, HS 261- The first of the infamous 'Three W's' on this list, Worrell was the first black cricketer to captain West Indies and set in place a legacy of exhilarating cricket that would last for decades. In his Wisden obituary to Worrell, Learie Constantine wrote that "while Walcott bludgeoned the bowlers and Weekes dominated them, the stylist Worrell waved them away." Stylish is the word that always crops up when reading about Worrell and certainly when studying reports of the infamous 1950 tour to England when he topped the test batting averages with 539 runs at an average of 89.83, including his best Test score of 261 at Trent Bridge.

25. Barry Richards(South Africa) - 4 tests, 2 100s, 2 50s, average 72.57, HS 140 - We thought long and hard before including Richards on this list. The vile Apartheid regime and South Africa's subsequent exclusion from test cricket limited Richards to only four tests. His figures in those games are impressive to say the least, but not enough to get him in alone. But he stood out to such an extent in World Series Cricket, which at the time was unarguably tougher than test cricket, that there appears no doubt that the dasher Richards could have been one of the all-time greats if Nelson Mandela had been released 20 years earlier.

24. Rahul Dravid(India) - 139* tests, 29 100s, 58 50s, average 53.75, HS 270 - A classical player who has all the shots, Dravid has arguably been India's most important batsman during his career in terms of the matches his innings have won or saved - the wins at Adelaide, Headingley and Rawalpindi standing out. At his best, Dravid is impregnable; hence his nickname of The Wall. Until a poor 2008, he was averaging close to 60, which at the time was even higher than a certain Sachin Tendulkar, and he joins the little master and Sunil Gavaskar as the three best batsmen that India has produced.

23. Ken Barrington(England) - 82 tests, 20 100s, 35 50s, average 58.67, HS 256 - Of all the batsmen that didn't make our list last year, we got the most complaints about Barrington's exclusion. Indeed, only Herbert Sutcliffe and Eddie Paynter managed a higher test average for England than the obdurate Barrington, who changed his previous more carefree style after being dropped early in his international career. He particularly enjoyed facing the Aussies, averaging 63.96 in 23 matches against England's bitterest rivals. This may have provoked Ian Chappell to write that "Every so often you encounter a player whose bat seem about a yard wide. It's not, of course. It just seems that way. England's Ken Barrington was one."

22. Clyde Walcott(West Indies) – 44 Tests, 15 100s, 14 50s, Average 56.68, HS 220 - The second of the ‘three Ws’ on the list, Walcott played an instrumental role in the first West Indian victory on English soil at Lord’s in 1950 scoring 168 not out. Along with Weekes, he was arguably the best batsman in the World during the mid-1950s reaching his peak with an incredible five hundreds and 827 runs during Australia’s first Test series in the Caribbean.

21. Denis Compton(England) - 78 tests, 17 100s, 28 50s, average 50.06 HS 278- Robbed of six years of his career by World War II, Compton made up for lost time in his recordbreaking season of 1947 when he scored an incredible 3,816 runs with 18 centuries. As audacious as he was brilliant at the crease, Compton was a natural risk taker and as such was adored by those who watched him. Scored two hundreds in the test series against Bradman's 1948 invincibles, which is an indication of how good Compton was.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

West Indies' home test series with South Africa kicks off today at Port of Spain with the hosts in utter disarray after a dismal World T20 and then seven straight defeats to today's opponents in the recent Twenty 20 and one day internationals.

Rarely can the once great West Indies side have been in such a negative mind set with captain Chris Gayle admitting that "Losing has become a habit, but we have to put that behind us and look forward to the Test series." It will be a major surprise should they even draw the series with Graeme Smith's side and for people like us who grew up with the dominant West Indian team of the 1980s, that is still quite hard to get used to.

We believe that a strong West Indies side is important for the world game and the brand of cricket they play is always one that is good on the eye, so in the vain hope that it may inspire Chris Gayle and his troops here is our all-time West Indies test XI. Unsurprisingly, none of the current team were even close to making it, and when you consider that the likes of Sir Frank Worrell, Desmond Haynes, Clive Lloyd, Richie Richardson and Rohan Kanhai also didn't make the final cut, then the rich heritage of Caribbean cricket is abundantly clear. And that was just the batsmen. Jeff Dujon, Joel Garner, Courtney Walsh, Andy Roberts, Wes Hall, Charlie Griffith, Learie Constantine, Lance Gibbs and Alf Valentine were also regretfully ruled out.

1. Gordon Greenidge (108 tests, 19 hundreds, average 44.72)- A vivid memory from our childhood was Greenidge's brutal unbeaten 214 at Lord's in 1984 against England to make mincemeat of a victory target of 344. Immensely powerful and destructive, Greenidge was the template for the modern breed of attacking openers like Sehwag and Dilshan, but this West Indian was better than them all. Formed two of the greatest opening partnerships of all time with Desmond Haynes for the Windies and Barry Richards for Hampshire.

2. George Headley (22 tests, 10 hundreds, average 60.83) -The 'Black Bradman' (or was Bradman the 'White Headley'?) has a claim to be the Windies best batsman ever. Despite single-handedly being the West Indian batting line-up on his own, Headley still scored an astonishing ten centuries in his 22 tests. Normally batted at three, but is picked as an opener here as no doubt his supreme brilliance could have easily be transferred to this role.

3. Sir Viv Richards (Captain, 121 tests, 24 hundreds, average 50.23) - Regarded by cricket aficionados as probably the most devastating batsman in the history of the game, King Viv was absolutely unstoppable on his day. His style was a mixture of swagger and intimidation and most bowlers seemed to visibly cower when faced with an on-song Richards. It is befitting that he is the scorer of the fastest-ever Test century, from just 56 balls against England on his home island of Antiguaduring the 1986 tour. With Worrell and Lloyd not making the cut, Richards also captain's our all-conquering Caribbean XI.

4. Brian Lara (131 tests, 34 hundreds, average 52.88) - The man with the highest Test and First Class scores of 400 not out and 501 not out respectively. When he started his career, West Indies' era of dominance was on the wane. By the time he finished it, his side was in the doldrums and as a result he spent most of his time trying to keep the side afloat making his record even more impressive. Perhaps his best achievement was in 1999 in the home series against Australia, when he single-handedly won the second and third tests with scores of 213 and 153 not out after his side had been obliterated in the first test. He scored a century too in the fourth and final test, but couldn’t prevent Australia squaring the series.

5. Everton Weekes (48 tests, 15 hundreds, average 58.61) - One of the immortal 'three Ws', Walcott believed that Weekes was the best all-round batsman of the three. An attacking cricketer with a vast array of strokes, Weekes made an electric start to his test career reaching 1,000 runs in only his 12th innings; one fewer than Bradman. During this run he also scored five centuries in consecutive innings against England and India - still a test record.

6. Sir Gary Sobers (93 tests, 26 hundreds, average 57.78, 235 wickets at 34.03) - Widely regarded as Cricket’s greatest all-rounder. With the bat, Sobers mixed elegance with power and for a long time held the record for the highest Test score until he was usurped by his fellow West Indian Brian Lara. Perhaps his best innings though came for the Rest of the World against Australiain 1972 when Sobers played an innings of 254 which was described by Bradman as "probably the greatest exhibition of batting ever seen in Australia". But batting wasn't his only talent. Indeed, he could bowl left arm fast medium as well as both orthodox and leg spin.

7. Sir Clyde Walcott (44 tests, 15 hundreds, average 56.68, 53 catches, 11 stumpings) - Ok, Walcott wasn't as good a keeper as Dujon and even had to relinquish the gloves following back trouble, but how can you leave out someone this good? Walcott played an instrumental role in the first West Indian victory on English soil at Lord’s in 1950 scoring 168 not out. Along with Weekes, he was arguably the best batsman in the World during the mid-1950s reaching his peak with an incredible five hundreds and 827 runs during Australia’s first Test series in the Caribbean. This team bats deep!

8. Malcolm Marshall (81 tests, 376 wickets at 20.94) - If picking the batsmen was hard, whittling down a long line of brilliant West Indies fast bowlers is even harder. The decision to include Marshall though wasn't difficult as he is arguably the best of the lot. Fearsomely fast and with the ability to swing the ball both ways, Marshall was often unplayable and England in particular were frequent victims. His strike rate of 46.22 was as phenomenal as his premature death at the age of 41 was tragic. No doubt, Marshall has reduced Bradman's average of 99.94 since he joined the heavenly all-time greats.

9. Curtly Ambrose (98 tests, 405 wickets at 20.99) - It was a split decision with big bird Joel Garner, but it's the equally large Ambrose who just sneaks our vote. Once took seven wickets for one run in the most devastating of spells against Australia, but as England fans we remember him hustling out Mike Atherton's side for 46 in Port of Spain more.

10. Michael Holding (60 tests, 249 wickets at 23.68) - It could have been Roberts, Hall, Walsh or even the pioneer Constantine, but we settle for Whispering Death as our third quick. Could well be the fastest bowler in history and he certainly had the longest run-up. His run-up and delivery were poetry in motion for all who watched except for the terrified batsman at the other end. Now an erudite and forthright commentator, Holding is perhaps best remembered for his 14 for 149 at The Oval in 1976.

11. Sonny Ramadhin (43 tests, 158 wickets at 28.98) - Wins a toss-up with Lance Gibbs, although we never saw either of them bowl live in the flesh. Ramadhin could spin the ball both ways and bowl off and leg breaks and it is this versatility that tipped the scales in his favour. Was the hero when West Indies won their first test at Lord's with 11 for 152 in 1950.

Monday, January 11, 2010

I was having a debate come argument with one of my best pals over the weekend as to who is the greatest of the three modern day batting greats of Ponting, Tendulkar and Lara. I reckon it is the Australian captain who wins the day (just) because in my view he has played the greater number of match winning or game saving innings during his career.

Whoever is the best modern day batsman (and there will never be common consensus on this one!), all three princes must rank amongst the twenty best batsmen to ever play the game. This leads rather aptly to my own list of the greatest batsmen ever.

Being in my mid-thirties, I obviously do not have the benefit of seeing the great players of yesteryear live at the crease. Thus, I have relied on my extensive collection of Wisden and other cricket books, plus newsreel footage and general knowledge of the game in order to arrive at my final list.

The twenty names are based primarily on Test cricket, which is undoubtedly the real barometer of a batsman’s ability and greatness. In any case, international limited overs cricket was not played before 1971 so we will never know how Bradman, Hammond and other such great luminaries would have fared in this form of the game. Naturally, comparing players from different generations is difficult as the game has changed irrevocably over the course of its history with covered pitches, faster scoring rates and changes to the laws of the game. As such, Ponting will never play on a ‘sticky dog’, but can be adjudged leg before to a ball pitching outside off-stump, which would not have been the case before 1935.

It has been an agonising process to come down to the final twenty names and several great names have not made the cut. Hopefully, it will provoke some discussion and debate amongst Cricket fans worldwide.

An Indian prince and giant of Victorian and Edwardian cricket, Ranji was credited with bringing several new strokes into the game including the late cut and was an early exponent of back foot defence. Widely considered to be one of the greatest batsmen of all time prior to World War I, Neville Cardus described the stylish and unorthodox Ranji as "the midsummer night's dream of cricket".

One of two of the ‘three Ws’ on this list, Walcott played an instrumental role in the first West Indian victory on English soil at Lord’s in 1950 scoring 168 not out. Along with Weekes, he was arguably the best batsman in the World during the mid-1950s reaching his peak with an incredible five hundreds and 827 runs during Australia’s first Test series in the Caribbean.

The best Australian batsman of the seventies and early eighties, Chappell allied steadfast concentration with attractive stroke making. Despite his excellent Test record, perhaps his best batting was during the World Series Cricket schism where he made 621 runs at 69 in five ‘Super Tests’ versus the mighty West Indies in the Caribbean in 1979.

Gavaskar was one of the best openers of all-time and the pre-eminent Indian batsman before Tendulkar – the man who broke his record of most Test match centuries. A brilliant batsman against fast bowling, Gavaskar scored a superlative 13 centuries at an average of 65.45 against the formidable West Indies side of the seventies and eighties.

The greatest Pakistani batsman ever, Miandad was a precocious teenage prodigy scoring a century on debut and in the same series breaking George Headley’s record as the youngest player to score a Test match double century. His non-textbook style, pugnacity and ability to rile bowlers made him a thorn in the side of most opponents during a long and glittering career.

Until Bradman, Grace was regarded as the greatest cricket player ever and was certainly one of the most competitive. Over the course of a 44 year career, he transcended the sport and in the words of John Arlott “created modern cricket”. Amongst other nicknames, Grace was known as “the Champion” and one of his contemporaries and fellow all-time great batsmen Ranjitsinhji said of him in the Jubilee Book of Cricket “I hold him to be not only the finest player born or unborn, but the maker of modern batting”.

Of those that have played at least 20 Test match innings, Pollock holds the second highest average after Bradman, who described the South African as the best left hander along with Sobers that he had ever seen. Widely recognised as his country’s best ever player, Pollock’s Test career was cut short abruptly at the age of 26 due to the sporting boycott of South Africa.

The highest ranked of the immortal ‘three Ws’, Walcott believed that Weekes was the best all-round batsman of the three. An attacking batsman with a vast array of strokes, Weekes made an electric start to Test cricket, reaching 1,000 runs in only his 12th innings, one fewer than Bradman. During this run he also scored five centuries in five consecutive innings against England and India – still a Test record.

Despite World War II robbing him of six years of cricket from the age of 23, Hutton is still considered amongst the giants of English batters. Before the War and at the age of 22, he scored the then highest Test match score of 364 against Australia. Afterwards, he continued to amass runs for Yorkshire and England and became the first professional player to captain his country.

The ‘Little Master’ holds a number of prestigious Test batting records including most runs and most centuries; and he hasn’t finished yet. Other than Hobbs, Tendulkar is the only player to score ten centuries or more against Australia. Many would have him higher on this list – certainly Wisden ranked him behind only Bradman as the second greatest batsman of all time in 2002.

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